Eastern

The Federal Communications Commission may decide today on the City of Wilson's petition for the federal agency to override state laws that limit municipal broadband networks. Wilson built its own Greenlight fiber network in 2009 and wants to extend the network beyond the city limits and into neighboring counties.

New Hanover County district attorney Ben David has asked the State Bureau of Investigation to broaden its investigation of Cape Fear Community College amid new allegations against former president Ted Spring, who resigned abruptly in January. A member of the board of trustees alleges Spring asked an employee to write a report for him in exchange for consideration for a promotion.

Vidant Health approved a $320 million bond proposal that would fund construction of a $194 million cancer center and other projects. The Greenville-based health care system plans to break ground on the cancer center March 20.

Wilmington-based software company nCino Inc. completed a $29 million round of financing led by New York-based private-equity firm Insight Venture Partners. Spun out of small-business lender LIve Oak Bank in 2012, nCino plans to use the funds to expand in the United States, enter international markets, accelerate product development and add new employees.

ECU Chancellor Steve Ballard wants the state legislature to increase funding for the Brody School of Medicine by $8 million this year and by $30 million each year afterward. Ballard says the school needs the additional funding to keep training doctors for rural North Carolina and to keep operating clinics that serve eastern N.C. residents who can't afford to pay for healthcare.

Fayetteville City Council voted 7-3 in favor of incentives for Sanderson Farms to build a chicken-processing plant that would create 1,000 jobs. Cumberland county commissioners approved economic incentives for the project in January, reversing an earlier decision. The Mississippi-based company hasn't said if it is still considering Cumberland for its proposed plant; Robeson County held a hearing last week for a similar project, speculated to be Sanderson Farms.

Released Friday, the N.C. Department of Transportation's draft State Rail Plan includes improvements to passenger and freight rail service in southeastern North Carolina. The plan mentions a potential passenger rail line between Wilmington and Raleigh, and proposes a study of a passenger rail corridor linking Wilmington and Charlotte.

Garner-based Butterball will invest $70 million in the former House of Raeford turkey plant and plans to create 367 jobs. That's welcome news to the town of Raeford, where more than 1,300 people lost their jobs in 2013 and 2014 when House of Raeford closed two local plants ("Turkey Trot," January).

Elected officials and film-industry leaders joined together at a press conference in Wilmington on Thursday and said they would advocate to increase funding for the state's new film grant program. Johnny Griffin, director of the local film commission, said that normally at this time of year Wilmington would have received 20 to 25 inquiries about film projects – this year there have been three.

Film-industry leaders in Wilmington will make an announcement at EUE/Screen Gems Studios at 10:30 Thursday morning. Mayor Bill Saffo will be on hand, as well as Bill Vassar, executive vice president of the studios, and other local leaders. No further details were provided.

Robeson County may have violated the state's open meetings law when it approved incentives for an unnamed company – speculated to be poultry producer Sanderson Farms – to bring 1,000 jobs to the county. Robeson County Attorney Patrick Pait disagrees, and says there will be additional hearings on the project if it advances.

Chapel Hill-based East West Partners was chosen to redevelop the Water Street parking deck in downtown Wilmington. The company's initial proposal includes 554 parking spaces, 190 apartments and more than 31,000 square feet of retail space.

Cumberland County commissioners approved incentives for Sanderson Farms to build a $95 million chicken-processing plant, while nearby Robeson County and the town of St. Pauls approved incentives for an unidentified company that closely resembles the Mississippi-based poultry processor. The Sanderson Farms plant could bring about 1,000 jobs to the region.

Leases for wind turbines off the coast of North Carolina could be awarded as early as 2016, according to the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The agency recently held public hearings in three coastal communities that could be impacted by the turbines. Some residents fear the turbines could harm the coastal tourism industry.

A $110 million delinquent loan will not affect day-to-day operations at Wilmington's Independence Mall, according to a spokeswoman from the property-management group that runs the 1 million-square-foot shopping center.

The N.C. State Ports Authority will shed about a dozen properties and plans to use the proceeds for capital improvements at its deepwater ports in Wilmington and Morehead City. The authority will sell the 42-acre Southport Marina and 11 mostly undeveloped properties in Brunswick, Carteret and New Hanover counties.

Robeson County and the town of St. Pauls will hold public hearings Monday on "Project Apple," an unidentified economic-development project that closely resembles the Sanderson Farms proposal that Cumberland County commissioners also plan to vote on Monday. Newspaper advertisements said the project would involve a $115 million investment and create 1,100 jobs.

Wilmington-based Eshelman Ventures, the latest project of PPD founder Fred Eshelman, announced two investments in Research Triangle Park pharmaceutical companies last week. The investment company was part of a $3.2 million round of financing for Dignify Therapeutics and also co-led a $33 million financing package for G1 Therapeutics.

The developer tasked with rehabbing the historic Prince Charles Hotel in downtown Fayetteville is hopeful Gov. Pat McCrory will persuade the state General Assembly to bring back the historic-property tax credit. The credit, which expired Jan. 1, helped redevelop nearly 2,500 properties in the state between 1998 and 2014.